


don't cry, baby girl

by theredhoodie



Category: From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series
Genre: (Mild) PTSD, 50's AU, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Greasers, Alternate Universe - No Culebra, F/M, Teen Angst, This is a love story, aged-down characters
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-11
Updated: 2016-12-26
Packaged: 2018-09-07 18:39:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,733
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8811781
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theredhoodie/pseuds/theredhoodie
Summary: It's her senior year of high school and Kate Fuller is just getting over a rough summer. The last thing she expects is Richard Gecko to come bursting back into her life after she told him she never wanted to see him again. But that's just how life goes, and soon Kate's simplistic life is back to being mixed up with the greasers and gangs and all the bad kids in town that she gave up months ago.





	1. Collision

**Author's Note:**

> So I originally came up with this idea I believe between s1 and s2 (I know, AGES AGO) and I wrote a bit of it then gave up, but I'm so fueled lately to write R/K that I just couldn't not write this.
> 
> This takes place in the 50's (probably mid-50's) in Bethel, Texas (which I've made into a small city/large town for the purposes of this fic) and so there will be some major differences. I'm trying to make it slightly realistic, so there probably won't be a lot of swearing, but I'm trying to keep the base of the characters as in character as I can!
> 
> I don't know how long this will be, but there will be quite a few chapters and I'd love to hear what you think once you're done reading! Thanks for checking out my work!
> 
> PS. More tags/relationships/characters will be added as the story goes.

Kyle and Kate may be Christian kids, but they're still teenagers with urges. With life being short, they have to live a little. Kyle takes Kate off to some place at the edge of town in his family's truck. They don't even get to the bed of it; he turns off the engine and presses her back against the seat. Kate's heart jumps and her hands clumsily curl at his neck and across his back, unbuttoning his blue shirt and pushing it off his shoulders so he's only in a T-shirt. Kate tilts her head back and he kisses her neck. The kisses are sloppy and wet, and her eyes focus on the cross hanging off the rearview mirror.

Kyle's hand starts to push under her shirt and Kate freezes, grabbing his wrist. She doesn't think she needs to _say_ anything, but then he does it again. "Kyle, no," she says in that soft, Southern tone of hers.

He sighs. "C'mon Kate, can't we have a little fun?" He tries to pressure her, thinking his charming grin and perfectly sculpted blond hair will convince her otherwise.

Kate squints up at him and shakes her head.

He doesn't really take her answer seriously, and less than a minute later, his hand is snaking up under her shirt again. Kate digs her nails painfully into his shoulders, trying to push him away.

"Stop!" she says firmly. Kate's heart leaps again in panic when his fingers reach her bra and he mumbles something incoherently.

And then he's gone.

The driver's side door is open. She hears painful grunts and scrambles across the seat. Her knees feel like jelly and her bare arms gain chills in the night air without her cardigan. The scene before her does nothing to bring her happiness.

"Stop it!" she yells, launching herself out of the truck.

Kyle is on the ground, nursing a bloody nose. He has smudges of dirt of his shirt, results of a few kicks. Standing over him, ready for one final kick, is Richie Gecko.

Kate latches her hand on Richie's arm, trying to pull him back, but he's twice her size. "Stop! What're you doing?"

Richie doesn't kick Kyle again. He turns to Kate and looks down. "What are _you_ doing?" he counters, voice just as fierce as her own.

Kate frowns and tugs him a step away from the groaning Kyle. Kyle isn't overly beefy, he runs track, so he is slender and is, as far as Kate knows, the pacifist kind of Southern boy. Richie is the opposite, having grown up on the rough side of town, and he can deal some real damage when necessary.

"None of your business! What are you doing here?" she repeats. She shoves him—he doesn't move—and then crosses her arms. "Did you _follow_ us here?"

Richie sighs with his entire body and removes his glasses to pinch the bridge of his nose. He makes quite the picture, tall and lean in jeans and black boots, white T-shirt, leather jacket, slicked back hair and, to top it all off, a pair of glasses. Anyone else in glasses looks like a complete nerd, but no one can mistake Richie Gecko for one of those pencil pushers that wear khakis and suspenders.

"What woulda happened if I didn't show up?" he asks, sliding the frames back on.

Kate presses her lips together and shakes her head. "You gotta quit following me, okay?" This isn't the first time she's caught sight of him while she's been out with Kyle. This is just the first time that Kate confronted him.

Richie doesn't agree or disagree, but she leaves him anyway to rush to Kyle's side. He's still bleeding and mumbles terrible things about Richie in her ear as she helps him stand. She's just helping him toward the driver's side of his truck when she realizes that he can barely see and she can't drive. Sighing, she gets him inside and then hops out of the truck and walks over to Richie, keys in hand.

"Because _you_ did this, you're driving us to the hospital," she says matter-of-factly, shoving the keys into his palm.

He smirks and she turns around quickly to hide the roll of her eyes. Settling down in between the two boys in the truck, Kate wonders how she ever got into this mess. Of course, she knew exactly how and why it happened, but it doesn't make it easier for her to feel comfortable being involved in.

Richie rolls his window down and the car fills with a chilling whip of night air. Kate pulls her sweater closer and turns on the late night radio.

Kate doesn't say anything, and neither does Richie. Kyle mumbles and sighs and wiggles around in the seat, using his button-down to staunch the blood and wipe his face. Kate's gaze moves from the cross dangling on the rearview to Richie's profile out of the corner of her eye. She thinks, for half a second, about running her hand through his hair, and then her eyes widen in surprise at the stray thought. She clears her throat and tries not to notice the way his leather jacket hangs off his frame.

* * *

Kate sits next to Richie in the waiting area on brand new cushioned chairs. She crosses her legs, covered in thin denim trousers, and sits back, folding her hands together in her lap. Richie is nearly bent in half as he leans forward, elbows on his knees, rubbing his rough palms together and glancing around.

"Just like old times," he says after the silence has stretched out long enough.

Kate blinks and looks over at the curve of his back. "What?" she asks softly, her hand immediately going up to the chain around her neck.

Richie turns to her, half twisting in the seat. He raises his eyebrows. "You don't remember?"

She's tired and worried that her father will start wondering where she went off to and is only half paying attention to Richie. In fact, she's trying her best _not_ to pay any attention to him. "Richie, I'm really tired," she says, but he's already talking over her.

"Ouch, Katie, you don't even remember our first date?" He has a habit of sounding overly offended over the smallest of things. And also has a habit of coming off like a real jerk.

Kate sighs and rubs her face with her hands. "That was not a date," she insists, crossing her arms tightly. She knows exactly what he's talking about and it's yet another thing she wants to avoid thinking of.

"It is in my neighborhood." He sits back and rests his elbows over the back of his chair, his hands dangling in the air on either side of him.

Kate looks over at him fully in the bright lights. She narrows her eyes and makes a small, disgruntled noise in the back of her throat. "We are not from the same neighborhood, Richie." She stands up and walks over to the other side of the room before she shakes her head and disappears down the hall to find the bathroom.

Her hair is a mess and she does her best to smooth it back into place. She tucks her shirt back into the waist of her pants and buttons up her cardigan. She knows that she's being unnecessarily mean to Richie and she feels down about it, but she can't help it. It's all her fault, and no matter what she says to make herself feel better, she can't blame him for any of it. And that is infuriating.

"It's just a ride back and he'll be gone," Kate tells her reflection. She isn't convinced.

With a slump of her shoulders, she walks back to the waiting room just as Kyle shuffles out with a bandage over his nose, his skin bruised.

"Oh Kyle," Kate says, walking over to him, worry laced cross her face. She's thankful for the distraction. "Are you okay?"

He almost brushes her off, but he relents and accepts her concern once he sees the greaser sitting in the corner, eyes on them. Kyle takes on her worry as a slap in the face for the guy who got the jump on him. "Yeah, I'll be fine," he says.

Kate gives him a quick hug and then turns back to Richie, who's watching them looking bored.

"You still shouldn't drive," Kate says to Kyle, even though she's looking at Richie. "Could you drive us back?"

Kyle steps forward, his arm bumping into Kate's back. The touch makes her jump. "No way, I can drive fine."

"No," Kate says, once again in that strict tone that she'll use well in the future as a mom. "You shouldn't be driving. I don't feel like running off the road tonight."

The decision made, Richie once again trails behind them, still having the truck keys in his pocket. Kate frets over Kyle the whole ride and neither of them pays attention to where Richie is driving. He very well could be driving them to the edge of town to kill them.

But he doesn't.

He parks the truck in the driveway of Kyle's house and cuts the engine. Kate takes in the familiar lawn and front door.

"Wait, what about—"

"I'll walk you home," Richie interrupts her before getting out of the car.

Kyle's head hurts too much to protest. Kate's back to ignoring Richie, so she doesn't even realize that she just got signed up to spend even _more_ time with Richie than she ever wanted until it's too late. She helps Kyle to his door and kisses his cheek, leaving before his parents poke their heads outside.

Richie waits for her at the bottom of the driveway, a cigarette hanging out of the corner of his mouth. Kate sighs and crosses her arms as a safety blanket as she walks closer to him.

"Y'alright?" he asks as they start to walk. She falls in step beside him. He normally walks too fast for her, but he swaggers along next to her instead, hands shoved in his jean pockets.

Kate shrugs, rubbing her upper arms as the chilly, January air bites her skin. She squints against the dim streetlights and keeps walking, trying not to shiver. A moment later, Richie slips off his jacket, removing his box of cigarettes from a pocket, and lays his jacket over her shoulders.

She flinches, but sinks her fingers into the warm leather on either side of the zipper. "Thank you," she mumbles.

Richie nods and rolls his cigarettes into his shirtsleeve. "You really shouldn't hang out with that loser," he tells her.

Kate purses her lips and glances up and over at him. "My life is none of your business."

"He's gonna screw with you," he says, with underlying disapproval in his tone.

Kate stops short, but he keeps walking. She doesn't want to be left alone in the dark, no matter how much of an infuriating person he is being. "Like I said, none of your business."

Richie lets out a cloud of smoke. "I just punched and kicked the guy, I think I've got some right to know."

Kate scoffs as they round the corner of the street. "See, that's your problem. You think you're entitled just because you can beat someone up. I never asked you to _do_ that!"

"That why you wore pants? Makes it harder for the sleaze to—"

"Please stop talking." Kate grinds her teeth together and walks faster in the direction of her house. It's up the street and on the left, just a ten minute walk from Kyle's.

She crosses the street without looking, just wanting to be in the safety of her own home, and Richie follows. He grabs her shoulder, stopping her in the middle of the street.

"Are you looking to get killed?" he asks harshly. As the words leave his mouth, the realization of their meaning hits him and his aggravated expression drops. "Wait, Kate—"

Kate blinks sudden tears out of her eyes and slips out of his grasp and out of his jacket in the same movement. "Thank you for the walk home, but I'm fine now. You can go." She shoves the jacket at him and continues to the sidewalk and up to the walkway of her house.

Richie follows her to the sidewalk, but she doesn't turn to see how long he stands there.

"Kate?" Her brother's voice comes from the kitchen.

"Scott?" She stops on the bottom stair and leans down so she can see. He's sitting in his pajamas, drinking a glass of milk. "It's late, you should be asleep."

Scott shrugs. "Just about to. You okay? You look…rough."

Kate shakes her head. "I'm fine. Goodnight, Scott." She walks up the stairs to the second door on the right, the scent of leather, cigarettes, and motor oil clinging to the air around her.

* * *

Richie walks through the front door of his house, a squat, dirty bachelor pad in a side of town that Kate's type wouldn't step foot in, even just to pass through. His uncle, Eddie, is sitting at the kitchen table, eating some kind of quick dinner. Eddie looks up at his entrance and angrily throws his fork onto the plate.

"Where the hell've you been?"

Richie rolls his eye and lays his jacket over the back of the second kitchen chair. "Out," he says, opening the fridge and grabbing a bottle of beer from the door.

"Out…God dammit, Richard. Were you following that nice girl around again?" Eddie pushes himself up to his feet.

Richie knows that Eddie's on edge from what happened to Seth last month—Richie isn't feeling too peachy about it either—but he really doesn't wanna deal with this now. He chugs some piss-weak beer and grimaces at the taste. "Some jockstrap was trying to force himself on her, what was I supposed to do?"

Eddie sighs and flops back in the chair. "Just remember what happened last time, son, alright?"

Richie blinks slowly and sits down opposite his father figure. "I'm a big boy, Eddie. I can take care of myself."


	2. Split Second Decisions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not much to say except that I'm sorry I haven't posted in this! I meant to post one new chapter a week, but then the holidays happened and I had no time. Hopefully I can actually post once a week now! I hope you enjoy! :) Chapter three is gonna be super emotional!

Kate's Sundays are taken up completely by her church life. She and Scott help their father get ready for his sermons in the morning and spend the entire day helping him. This Sunday is like every other. She dresses in her best, prim yellow dress and white heels, curling the bottom of her hair and pinning back the sides with barrettes.

She kisses the cross that belonged to her mother hanging on the mirror in her parents' bedroom before she shuffles into the car. She has no time to think about Richie Gecko, and no time to even think about poor Kyle until she sees him at the end of the service. His face is still bruised and puffy, a thick white bandage across his nose.

"What did you tell your parents?" she whispers to him once they're outside.

He shrugs. "Got jumped on my way back from walking you home," he says, his voice stuffy and plugged.

A good lie, and it isn't terrible. God won't see it as a bad thing, will he? Kate gives Kyle a tight smile and squeezes his arm.

"I never told you sorry about…that."

He shakes his head but nearly falls over doing so, blood rushing to his head. "It wasn't your fault. The guy a nutcase."

Kate purses her lips and then hears Scott call her name. She says bye to Kyle and goes to meet Scott.

After everyone has moved on with their Sundays, Kate goes back into the church and sits in the middle pew. A large wooden carving of Jesus on the cross hangs high above the alter and podium where her father preaches. She sits and looks at it, guilt creeping up the back of her throat.

She folds her hands together and closes her eyes, asking for forgiveness for the things she's done and things she will do in the future.

_Please don't think that I am a bad person, I'm only human and I'm trying my best_ , she prays silently. Once she finishes, she and her family head home. She wants desperately to call Ximena and tell her everything that's going through her mind, but the possibility of being overheard by her family is too much of a risk. She simmers in her own mental confusion as she does homework beside Scott at the kitchen table. Eventually she cooks dinner—or she tries at least, she isn't the best cook, no matter how many home economics class she's taken at Pearson High—and goes to sleep early.

She doesn't remember her dreams, but knows she tosses and turns all night and by the time Monday morning comes around, she is more tired than she was when she first got into bed the night before.

She just lies there, overcome with so many memories from the summer that she can scarcely pick them apart into separate events. Her hands wring the comforter, soaking up the sweat on her palms.

There's a knock on the door. "Katie-Cakes, time to get up, sweetheart," her dad's voice comes through.

Kate sighs. "I'll be down in a minute!" Tossing back the sheets, she stands and stretches. She strips out of her nightgown and into her underwear, pausing before the long mirror in the corner of her room. She runs her fingertips over the smooth lines of scars over her abdomen. She can't linger long. She pulls on nylons and a plaid patterned full skirt that she tucks an ironed, button-down purple shirt into. Putting on a pair of short black heels, she smooths out her hair, pulls it back in a high ponytail and thanks God that her ends curl together nicely.

Kyle isn't at school when she gets there, and she walks next to Scott on the way inside. Kate has a lot of acquaintances, but any close friendships suffered greatly after the past summer; all except Ximena. They have homeroom together. Kate slips beside her at a desk, just a few minutes before the bell.

"Are you _okay_?" Ximena asks quietly.

Kate nods but it turns into a shake of her head. "I have no idea. Talk at lunch?"

Ximena reaches over and squeezes her wrist as the teacher comes in, accompanied by the loud scream of the bell.

The day passes by in a blur for Kate. Lunch sneaks up on her, and Ximena finds her arm in line, pulling her out to the far side of the outside tables. They live in Texas, and even the winters are mild.

"Tell me everything," Ximena says, using her hands for emphasis.

Kate smiles, grateful. She didn't know what she'd ever do without Ximena. They met at age seven. Ximena Vasconcelos Verdugo was five when her mother, Vengaza Verdugo, married the son of a very rich oil-rig typhoon, Joseph Tomball. Interracial marriages weren't totally unheard of in Texas, but it did cause a stir. Ximena went to the rich, predominantly white Pearson High with Kate. Kate, who had instantly become best friends with Ximena in first grade and who never made fun of her for having an accent or for not knowing perfect English when she first started school. The two girls had been inseparable through it all. And that meant _everything_ , including every rocky step of each day over the summer and the months that followed.

Kate takes a deep breath before relaying the scene from last night. From Kyle's roaming hands to Richie's nearly-stalking of her, to the hospital conversations, to the walk home. By the time she's done explaining it all, Kate isn't sure if she feels better or worse about it all.

Ximena's eyes are as wide as they can possibly go by the time Kate's finished. "Wow," is all she can say.

Kate droops her head and groans. "I just want to forget it ever happened," she mumbles, trying to convince herself it was true.

Ximena knows her better than that. She arches an eyebrow and _tut-tut_ 's. "C'mon, Kate, we both know that's not true."

"Do we?" Kate looks at her experimentally. "I…I honestly have no idea what to do. I wasn't expecting him to come rolling back into my life like this. I wanted to finish off my senior year and then move away to Austin to go to college."

Ximena pushes around the food on her plate. "There's almost five months left of school. We're only young once."

"What does that mean?" Kate knows that Ximena is trying to make her feel better, but in all honesty, she's just more confused.

Ximena shrugs. "Well, do you want to forget Richie? Or do you want to remember him?"

"Is neither an option?"

"Not in this town, honey."

The warning bell cuts off any more of their conversation and they have to split so they can make it to opposite ends of the school.

* * *

Ximena catches Kate after the last bell, hooking her hand around Kate's elbow and pulling her into the bathroom.

"What?" Kate says breathlessly.

"Have you decided?" Ximena asks. She had to run to catch Kate and pushes down her pencil-skirt that worked its way up to her knees in the process.

"On what?"

"On Richie."

Kate frowns, clutching books her chest. "I…I don't know."

"Do you want to know what I think?"

"No, but I think you're gonna tell me anyway."

Ximena raises her eyebrows. "Richie never did anything to you, did he? Saved your life, treated you well, stayed away from your parents because _you_ asked him to," she counts on her fingers, "and he even stayed away when you broke things off."

Kate protests. "He actually followed me around a bit. I would see him around town. He told me he followed me last night!"

"Yeah, because he was worried about you. And he had every right to. I've told you before, Kyle is way more of a creep than any of the guys like Richie in town." Ximena rests her hand on her hip and puts her other on Kate's shoulder.

"I…" Tears glisten in Kate's eyes. "I don't know how to do this. How do I apologize for…for what I did?"

Ximena gives her a small smile. "You'll figure it out. If he knows what's good for him, he'll take you back."

Kate isn't convinced. The two walk outside arm-in-arm. Kate's family car is idling at the front of the school. Scott is just getting into the backseat, her father behind the wheel. She heaves a sigh. "See you tomorrow?" she says, turning to Ximena.

"Just like every other Tuesday," Ximena says, walking away with a wave toward her boat of a Cadillac.

Kate pushes down her anxieties over Richie before getting into the front seat, laying her books on the seat between her and her father. "Hi Daddy," she says, giving him a kiss on the cheek.

Jacob gives her a small smile and asks her how her day was. The same conversations recycle through the cab as the Fullers stop at the pharmacy to pick something up and then head home for the usual night of homework, evening radio and a poorly cooked meal.

After a shower, Kate gets into her nightgown and brushes through her hair. She feels, for not the first time in her life, that her world is tilted. Things aren't quite what they seem, she can't quite catch her breath or find her footing. She thought that she had found some stability in the past month, but she has just been lying to herself.

With a lump in her throat, she kneels down beside her bed like she hasn't done in a very long time, and folds her hands together on top of the mattress. She takes a deep breath and closes her eyes. She doesn't want to be overheard, but she always feels more of a connection to God when she speaks her prayers aloud.

"Dear God, who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name—" Her voice catches in her throat and she squeezes her hands together tighter. "I used to think that you took Momma away to punish me but I'm not so sure anymore. Why would you punish me for following my heart? I can't imagine you to be such a vengeful being to someone as small as me. I can't keep convincing myself that I did something _wrong_ to try to make sense of what happened to my mom. I think that maybe sometimes, things happen and it's just human free will and chance. But I…I still don't know what to do. I really, really miss him and I don't want to stay away any longer. I just need you to give me some guidance, God, please."

Taking one last breath, Kate ends her prayer and crawls into bed. Her father often talks of the struggle to balance a love of God with the temptations of the natural world around them, and Kate feels herself pulled in multiple directions by it now. Maybe it's because she's just a teenager, maybe it's because she's always felt so close to God that once she found someone who she loved just as much, it scared her and she rushed back to God because it's what she's always known.

And all of this confusion is the reason why she's having so much trouble deciding what to do.

Eventually, she clicks off her lamp beside her bed and falls asleep.

* * *

_She smells bacon and hears humming in the kitchen. Her dream self walks down the stairs and around the corner. Her mother stands there humming, wearing a flour-covered apron and flipping bacon in a pan._

" _Morning, honey," she says with a smile._

_There is juice out at the table settings, one glass for each Fuller family member. Kate leans against the counter, hugging her arms around herself in a flannel robe._

" _You're up early," her mother says. "I haven't even finished the bacon!"_

_In the dream, Kate always knows that the person she's talking to is her mother, but the mental image starts to shift seamlessly from Jennifer Fuller to Richie Gecko. She doesn't even question it as they slide back and forth._

" _Is there a special occasion?" Kate asks._

_Her mother, currently looking and speaking as a Gecko, shakes her head. "Can't I just cook breakfast for my favorite people in the world?"_

_Kate smiles softly as the bacon is dished out and patted down to remove the excess grease._

" _Sit down, will you? It's almost ready."_

_Kate does as she's asked, sitting at her usual seat. The tablecloth is pressed perfectly, the mats starched so the lace edges don't make little mounds to accidentally tip any plates. Kate's fork clinks against her glass of orange juice as she moves her hand out of the way. Her mother places a plate in front of her. Aside the bacon sits two large pancakes with a layer of bananas between them; Kate's favorite._

_As normal and natural as seeing her mother is for her, Kate is overwhelmed for some unknown reason and she stands, pulling her mother close for a hug. Her mom accepts the hug and Kate holds her close, a notion of finalization coming over her._

Her father knocks on the door to rouse her and she lays in bed for longer than usual, processing the dream. She can't quite place the feeling accompanying it, but it wasn't bad. When Jacob calls up the stairs again, she jumps out of bed and pulls on one of her least planned outfits in a long time: a full blue skirt with a wide white belt and a button-down pink shirt. She pulls on a pair of saddle shoes she hadn't worn in ages, and brushed her hair quickly back into a ponytail.

She has to eat toast in the car over a napkin on the way to school so she and Scott aren't late. Kate spots Ximena holding a notebook to her chest from the car as she jumps out. She rushes toward her best friend, breathless and feeling plain. Ximena always looked like a movie star and long ago Kate had figured out that that was just Ximena. Kate was Kate and Ximena was Ximena; there was no need for any competition between them.

"Have you made any progress?" Ximena asks as they hurry toward homeroom, the bell threatening to ring with each step.

Kate presses her lips into a thin line. "I think so. I…I don't know how I'm going to go about it, but I'm gonna try." She spoke vaguely enough so that no one else around could gossip.

Ximena squeezes Kate's elbow. "It's about time we got back into something exciting," she smirks. "Life's been too mellow around here."

Kate rolls her eyes, not sure what Ximena is imagining is going to happen, but happy to have come to a decision, no matter how much it made her nervous at the prospect of what she was going to have to do. Kate was raised to be humble, but she had a stubborn streak in here that was going to make it hard for her to admit that she was in the wrong.

"The good thing is that he's still interested," Ximena says as they round a corner. "I mean, if he wasn't, I'd have to kick him where the sun don't shine for following you around like some kinda creep, so that's good for him.

Kate laughs. "I could…oh, I don't know, stop by the shop maybe."

"Repeating history?" Ximena thinks about it for a moment and shrugs. "Not a bad idea."

"I have to start somewhere," Kate shrugs.

* * *

After classes, Kate slips into the car and Scott gets into the back. It has to be some sort of fate or miracle that her dad says, "I've gotta take the car in for a check up today. I'll drop you kids off home first."

Kate has to hide the grin that threatens to break her face. She wrings her hands in her lap and Scott says something about signing up for wrestling try-outs. She hardly hears a word her family says until they pull into the driveway and the car stops slowly.

Scott gets out and Kate stays in. "Is it alright if I go with you, Daddy?" she asks. "I haven't gotten out much lately and I think it'll be nice to get some fresh air that isn't at school."

Jacob, struggling with his own inner demons, gives her a surprised and thankful smile. "Really? Alright. Hey, Scott," he calls through the window, "we'll be back in an hour. Don't burn the house down, son!"

Scott rolls his eyes and shakes his head. "Okay, Dad." He waves awkwardly with a pile of books in his arms and Kate settles back in the seat.

She knows exactly why she's going, but her father has no idea. In hindsight, it _is_ nice to spent time with her dad. They've always been a pretty close family, but in the past few months, each Fuller has strayed off into their own little worlds.

He doesn't even ask her about school. She tells him about some tests coming up, and he asks how Ximena and her family are. The car is filled with chatter until they pull up at _Randy's Autobody_. Kate gets butterflies in her stomach as her father parks the car at a curb and the two of them get out of the car. She gets a glimpse of the five bays. She knows the bays are hot, but even in Texas, January is chilly and the mechanics are all actually sporting their tan coveralls instead of drenched t-shirts and greasy jeans.

Kate follows Jacob inside, where it's a nice temperature. She sits down and he talks with the receptionist before sitting next to her.

"I appreciate you coming to keep me company, Katie-Cakes," Jacob Fuller says, patting her knee.

Kate flashes a fake smile at him. "Sure thing, Daddy." She presses her lips together and smooths her hands over her lap. She wishes that she'd thought to wear something a little _more_ today, but there was nothing she could do about that now.

"How's Kyle doing?"

Kate sighs. Her father's just trying to be nice and show an interest in her life, but after all the talk in the car, she's now just nervous. She shouldn't be so annoyed with her dad, but she jingles her legs and pushes herself to her feet, her skirt floating around her legs. "He's okay, Daddy," she says, turning and smiling down at him. "I'm getting cold. I'm gonna step outside for a minute."

It is the middle of the afternoon. He isn't going to stop her from going off alone. He gives her the okay and she pushes out the glass door, being hit with the warmth from outdoors. She sucks in a breath and bites down on her bottom lip again before frowning and rubbing her lips together to smooth out the light pink color. She runs her tongue over her teeth in hopes that she doesn't have lipstick on them and slowly makes her way from the comfort of the waiting area to the bays where the cars are being worked on.

The place is very warm and busy like a beehive. There are voices calling across and tools making noises of all kinds. Bangs and clangs and whirls and clanks.

She wishes that Seth were here for her to find and direct her to Richie. Instead, she has to find Richie on her own. She steps carefully and ignores the smirks and jabs of the young men working on the cars in the bays as she passes. She sees her family car before she sees Richie. He wheels himself out from underneath the car, almost close enough to stare right up her dress. She steps back, her cheeks turning pink.

It takes him a moment, but he squints up at her through his lenses.

"Kate?" he says, genuinely surprised and wondering if he's imagining things.

"Hi," she says softly. She steps back some more as he pushes forward and gets to his feet. He's not very sweaty compared to some of the other mechanics in the other bays. His coveralls are tied around his middle. She can see that the white of his t-shirt has been utterly stained with grease and oil. He pushes his glasses up with an index finger.

"That's my car," she says the first thing to come to mind.

"Yeah?" He tries to hide some sort of smile.

She realizes that he must know that and feels stupid. She waves her hands and rolls her head back. "I mean, it's my daddy's car. He's back there…waiting."

"I figured as much. There something you want?" He motions in her direction.

Kate looks everywhere but at him. At the car, at the tools she doesn't have names for, even into what she can see of the next bay space.

"Kate?"

Her eyes snap back to him and she flushes, her cheeks staining redder than they already were. "I just wanted to say hello," she caves with no self-respect. She looks down and takes a step back. "I'll let you get back to work."

"Yeah, sure," he says, nodding. She takes another step back and turns on her heel. "You look real good," he calls after her. Both of them were acting as if the other night hadn't happened. Kate doesn't know what to think about that.

She pauses at his comment and looks over at him, a small smile tugging at her lips before she disappears. She goes to sit back in the shop, but not before a dark car putts past, purposeful and gracefully like a panther waiting to pounce. It slows and then, with a pop of the engine, races down the street.

* * *

 

Halfway through the next day, during Kate's free period, Ximena skips English and they hang out in the parking lot by Ximena's Cadillac, drinking cans of soda through straws. They have a lot to catch up on, a lot of decisions to make.

"That's all?" Ximena asks once Kate describes her terrible attempt at talking to Richie at _Randy_ 's.

Kate sighs and slumps back against the bumper of Ximena's car. "Yes. I panicked! I didn't know what to say. All I could think about and focus on was that my dad was sitting a few yards away."

Ximena waves her drink around. The straw is stained with a smudge of red lipstick. "It could have been worse. At least he knows that _you're_ interested. Again." She tilts her head back. "Keeping track of you two is what I think writing a movie script would be like."

Kate doesn't know what that means so she sighs but laughs lightly, taking another drink. She squints through the sun, high and bright in the Texas sky, and spots her brother walking across the lot. She smiles and waves him over. Ever since he was old enough, he's had a crush on Ximena and Kate does her best to have Ximena around a little bit for his sake, but not too much for Ximena's.

Scott's wearing a plaid shirt tucked into khakis, still a bit of a bumbling freshman, still growing into his shoes, still dealing with bullying in the school hallways because he was a baby from China and not a naturally born American. As if more than half of Bethel weren't immigrants from Mexico. Kate would never understand blind prejudice.

Ximena is just turning around to see who Kate's waving over when the sound of an engine cuts through the air. It's not just _any_ engine belonging to _any_ car either. It belongs to a slick black ride with a meticulous paint job that looks impossible: under the light of the sun, the car moves and you can see snake scales in red and green.

Kate sits up suddenly and opens her mouth to yell toward Scott, but the car lurches around a corner and stops just an inch away from Scott's leg. Kate drops her soda with a gasp, rushing forward.

"Scott!" she yells, skittering across the asphalt. Scott is just standing there, looking through the tiny dark windshield, transfixed. Kate grabs his arm and tugs him away. He goes with her willingly, shaking his head to get ahold of himself. The moment they're out of harms way, the car tires screech and the hot rod flies away toward the road. Kate can smell the burnt rubber.

Kate's world stops for a moment before Ximena joins her and Scott.

"Oh my God, are you okay?" she asks, stepping in front of Kate.

Kate grapples with trying to breath.

"What were you thinking?" Ximena nearly barks, checking Scott for scrapes to put Kate at ease.

"I-I'm okay," he stammers, flustered. Once Ximena sees he's unharmed, she turns her attention to Kate.

"Kate!" she hisses, grabbing Kate's shoulders and shaking her lightly.

Kate blinks, her heart suddenly hammering in her chest as she slams back into her body. "Oh my God," she whispers, feeling sick to her stomach. She holds onto Ximena for support.

"Kate, are you okay?" Scott asks, peering at his sister. Kate's eyes have a faraway look and her hands are shaking.

"I think I need to sit down," she says. A moment later, she's been steered to Ximena's car and is perched on the bumper. She breathes deep and closes her eyes, her hands clenched together in her lap, knuckles white.

Scott puts his hand on her shoulder. "Are you okay?" he asks again.

She nods even though she isn't. "You should get back inside before you're late for class." She forces some sort of smile on her face.

He hesitates, but then he nods. "Okay. I'll see you when Dad picks us up."

Kate just nods and watches his retreating back.

After a quiet moment, Ximena leans down. "Kate?"

"Wanna walk me to the nurse?"

Ximena nods, keeping her arm around Kate's shoulders as they slowly make their way inside. Kate's trembling, and her mind reels as she searches for an anchor to hold onto.


End file.
